North Nepal Travel & Trek Pvt. Ltd — Local services in Pokhara

The North Nepal Agency: Highly recommend!

We selected North Nepal for our Manaslu circuit trek in March. After talking with several other guide agencies in Pokhara, it was clear that we wanted to go with them. As soon as we walked in, Mohan and his staff treated us like friends, asking about what we were looking for in a trek and sharing their own trekking experiences with us. They are truly passionate about what they do, and the excitement is contagious!

They paired us with a guide knowledgeable about the Manaslu and handled the permitting process for us as well. It was easy and convenient.

In hindsight we would have done a bit more research into the route and the planned stops along the way. We trusted North Nepal to plan everything. Although it was very well planned, we might have liked a few extra days on the itinerary to go a bit slower and soak up the trek.

Raj, Trekking Guide: Highly recommend!

An extremely experienced guide, the top choice for a more remote trek such as Manaslu. Knowledgeable: His English is great and he is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the area. He explained local religions, culture, topography, and social/political dilemmas to us. Personality: We got along great with Raj, he was great to be around. Always in a great mood and uplifting. We would play cards before meals and talk about life in the evenings. It was a pleasure to get to know him along the way. Great connections: He knows the best tea houses along the trek and was constantly making sure we got the best rooms and service available. He decided the restaurants and tea houses for us, which was nice, but if you would like to have more say on that process be sure to discuss this with him beforehand. Meals: He made great recommendations for what food and drinks to order and made sure the food preparation was hygienic. We had some delicious meals, never got sick, and were well fed the entire trek. Injuries: When one of our party was experiencing knee pain he made sure to offer as many solutions as he could by providing hot mustard oil for a massage, taking them to the health clinic for medication and asking other guides if they had a knee brace. Trail Style: On this trek, Raj set a good pace which kept us on schedule usually arriving before the rain came in the afternoons. He would stay ahead of us most of the time, providing us an opportunity to intimately experience the trek "alone". However there were times that we were concerned that he would not be able to hear us if an emergency arose. He would stop to share information and to point out the different mountains around us throughout the day. There were a few times that it would have been nice to have tips or reminders along the way, what layers to prepare, things to expect on certain portions of trail. This really depends on your experience level though, so be sure to communicate with him beforehand and your experience level and what kind of information would be helpful to you...

This review is in addition to Noah’s review below, for our trek of the Manaslu Circuit, to add more detail on our outstanding guide, Raj Rai, who was organized for us by North Nepal Travel & Trek. Raj was our guide for the Manaslu circuit trek from October 13-25, 2022. He was fun, personable, knowledgeable, emphasized safety, and we recommend him fully. With his experience on expeditions and treks across Nepal, he can support you in any adventure you wish to undertake. Our group was 2 people, and we organized the trek through North Nepal Travel & Trek (office in Pokhara). We carried our own bags and hired Raj as a guide. Raj is an excellent guide in every criteria.

Things Raj did that we were impressed by and thankful for: detailed pre-trip briefing to prepare, build trust, and make backup plans in case of changing conditions great English language skills Gathered local updates about trail conditions after a late-monsoon event destroyed parts of the trail. Kept us updated and safe as we navigated the reopening of the trail. Answering all questions we had about local environment, culture, religion, and history — thanks for your patience Raj! Honest and no-fuss communication, direct and no problems Detailed nightly briefings for the next day, including highlights and what to expect Emphasis on team cohesion Extensive experience with wilderness safety. He provided good advice for staying healthy as we moved into higher altitudes Fun attitude and personality, made the trip really fun Took extra good care of us, making sure meals were prepared on time, often serving and bussing our table Great with logistics, always making sure we got the best room for the night Assisted with our purchase of local bus tickets and organizing a jeep from Tilche to Besi Sahar on our way back to Pokhara during a busy Diwali holiday (in time to catch the local bus from Besi Sahar to Pokhara) Taught us some Nepali words on the way, which really improved our experience and made for good interactions with locals

Overall, Raj was the perfect guide for our Manaslu Circuit Trek and we recommend him for any trekking or expedition you’d like to do in Nepal. We recommend Raj and North Nepal to our friends and family and will hire him again if we return to Nepal...

We completed a 5 day Annapurna Base Camp trek with North Nepal Treks and had a fabulous time! Communication with Mohan before the trek was excellent, and we felt well-prepared. Upon arrival we were picked up and met our guide (Shiva) and porter (Don) and made our way to the start of the trek on a long jeep ride.

Typically Annapurna Base Camp is done in 7 days or so, so we knew 5 would be aggressive. It ended up being more difficult than we anticipated (especially living at sea level), but Shiva did an outstanding job keeping us on track and setting expectations. I feel like we really lucked out getting both Shiva and Don as both were outstanding and far exceeded my high expectations. With 25 years of experience in the mountain, Shiva seemed to know everything and everyone. We were always staying in the best accommodations and receiving the best meal service. At one point my wife had a small bout of stomach illness at Annapurna Base Camp, and both Shiva and Don were extremely helpful in navigating a stressful situation (she was ultimately fine hours later and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise view at the top!). Don was also frequently helping us out with various tricky hiking areas, and in taking many amazing photos. We also got very lucky with weather and had perfectly clear views each day.

After a long five days, we made our way back to Pokhara, and at Mohan's office they even arranged for a surprise anniversary cake to celebrate our 3rd anniversary (which occurred on the final day of our trek)! I had mentioned our anniversary casually to Shiva, and it was so awesome they thought to do this!

At some point we will come back to Nepal and do a longer trek, and we will absolutely be doing it again with North Nepal Treks, and requesting both Shiva and Don if they are available to go lead us once again. Everything went extremely well and we are very, very happy with out experience. Everyone at North Nepal Trek's office (including Mohan himself) and our guide/porter were...